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Shopify for just $9? Here's What You Need to Know About Shopify Lite

For years, Shopify has been one of the easiest platforms to establish and develop an eCommerce shop. With how rapidly social media is developing and how often customer behavior keeps changing, businesses often struggle to keep up. This is where Shopify Lite comes in. The eCommerce platform is geared at "social selling."

Find out more about how Shopify Lite can grow your business in this post.

What is social selling?

We say that Shopify Lite helps with social selling, but what is it anyway? Social selling is the activity of connecting with prospects, developing a connection with them, and engaging with potential leads using a brand's social media platforms. Businesses may use the strategy to help them meet their sales goals.

To put it another way, think of social selling as a new way to develop relationships. Engaging with potential consumers on social media may help you become the first company a prospect thinks about when they're ready to buy.

The goal of social selling is more than simply building your contact list. In other words, it's about making those encounters count and showing your customers that your company has a solution to their problem. This increases the likelihood of gaining trust and loyalty from your audience.

What is Shopify Lite?

Shopify Lite is a plan for merchants that are wanting to sell in-person (through POS lite) or add a purchase button to their current website. With Shopify Lite, you receive capabilities to see reports, give gift cards, and divide bills, among others. You can’t establish an online store with Shopify Lite. Shopify Lite is a wonderful alternative for small businesses that desire to establish an eCommerce business and target social media users, as well as everyone who is active online. It's excellent for entrepreneurs who are wanting to add a shopping cart to their Facebook page or an existing blog.

The Shopify Lite plan is not only affordable but also allows you to build a small eCommerce store within minutes on the Facebook Business page or an existing website.

In short, at only $9 a month, it’s a low-cost solution that provides you with the following e-commerce features:

  • Using a buy button to sell goods on your current website or blog
  • Using Facebook and Messenger to sell items
  • Using the Point-of-Sale app to conduct in-person sales

Plus, it also provides a full platform for managing your business and inventory. With only a few clicks, you can create discount coupons and view sales data in your dashboard. Keep track of your customers and set up automatic invoices.

What’s the difference between Shopify Lite and Shopify Basic?

The main difference between Shopify Lite and the other Shopify plans is that you will not receive a fully functional online store complete with a shopping cart. This means that you do get your own branded web space.

Instead, it allows you to utilize existing web pages or social media accounts like Facebook so you can sell via the Shopify platform.

You may use your current website or social media profile instead of starting from scratch with Shopify Lite. Below we narrow down the other differences in their features and functionality to help you decide if it’s for you:

Shopify Lite

Shopify Basic

Monthly price

$9/month

$29/month

Gives you an eCommerce store to sell your products

X

Lets you embed the buy button on your products

on Weebly, WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace

Staff accounts

1

2

Use Shopify checkout

Allows Unlimited Products and Files

24/7 support

Email and live chat

Phone, email, and live chat

Able to sell on social media

on Facebook and Messenger

on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Pinterest

Manual order creation

Give customers discount codes and vouchers

Allows payment integrations and quick checkout

Has a fraud analysis system

Point of sales (POS) sysyem

Provides currency exchange rates and calculations

Allows plugin and app installation

X

At $9 a month, Shopify Lite is tempting to consider for your own store. And it may be the ideal answer for certain businesses looking to sell items online. Many customers who consider the Lite plan wind up choosing the Basic.

If you’re fine selling products without an online store, then you might want to go for Shopify Lite. 

Though the Shopify Lite version does not include an online shop or a website for customers to explore, you may use the Shopify purchase button to sell products on a non-Shopify website such as WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly.

Using the buy button feature gives you access to abandoned cart emails that let you remind customers to buy items. For those selling at pop-up stores or marketplaces, Shopify Lite also has access to standard POS. Finally, it also has analytics and data on top-performing items, and a financial report to track sales and payments.

Now, if you want an online store, you should choose the Shopify Basic plan. This package is ideal for new or existing Shopify businesses.

This subscription gives you access to free Shopify themes that you may customize to suit your brand. It’s more suited for those who want to build up their branding via their own website.

This plan also allows you to track inventory from up to four different locations, such as a warehouse, office, retail shop, etc. You will also get up to 2 staff accounts with configurable permissions.

Finally, the basic plan provides traffic statistics and financial reports to assist you to grow your business.

If you simply want to sell a few items or some services, then the Lite plan may be right for you because for a startup, every dollar counts, and the cheapest Shopify plan may be the best place to start.

When to use the Shopify Lite plan

This plan works perfectly fine for some businesses. Curious to see when it’s best to go for Shopify Lite? Read on below.

  1. If you already have an existing website - If you already spent time making a website on another platform, there’s no need for you to do it again on Shopify. Just install Shopify Lite and start selling. 
  2. If you aren’t aiming to operate for a long time - If you’re just offering a product or service during your free time as a side hustle and don’t want a full-blown business, then Shopify Lite may be enough
  3. If you’re operating a cottage industry business - If your products are manufactured out of your home such as homemade crafts, stone carvings, weavings, and you can’t accept orders around the globe but instead sell at flea markets, festivals, etc. then Shopify Lite gives you the benefits of inventory tracking and POS while allowing you to take orders on the phone and in-person.

Shopify Lite expenses to be aware of

And because every dollar counts, you should know that Shopify plans usually have extra costs that you need to take note of. Shopify, like other e-commerce systems, is infamous for imposing monthly fees.

Here are the fees for Shopify's lowest plan:

  • 2.9 % + $0.30 for online sales
  • 2.7 % +$0.00 for in-store sales
  • A 2% surcharge if you use a provider other than Shopify Payments.

Shopify Payments are regarded as first-party payment options. You’ll need to check if your country is covered. If not, you’ll need to add alternative payment providers.

Here’s how:

Go to Settings->Payment Providers and pay an additional 2% charge for every transaction.

Also, taking payments in a currency other than your payout currency requires currency conversion. The currency conversion cost is added to your customer's bill as a premium.

How do you use Shopify Lite?

If you’re decided on using this platform, then this is the most important part. What are the ways to use Shopify Lite efficiently and in a way that it works for you?

Having customers paying and checking out within a few clicks is the goal.

With the Shopify Lite plan, you can sell your products online through the following:

  • Facebook
  • Facebook messenger
  • Instagram
  • Buy Button on your website

This is how it works:

Your store integrates with your existing Facebook Business page, and your products are sold there and via advertisements.

You may also sell items while chatting with customers on Facebook Messenger. This is a fantastic tool for when a consumer requests assistance on which product to purchase. It's far easier than sending them to a website and hoping they convert since you can make the sale right at that point.

Now, let’s go over these features.

Shopify Lite for Facebook

Shopify Lite simplifies shopping for your customers and automates many tasks so you can focus on other things.

With Shopify Lite, you get a Facebook store that is completely integrated. As a result, you may promote your business on Facebook. Customers don't have to leave Facebook to buy, reducing the number of steps.

The store integrates seamlessly with your existing Facebook Business page by adding a Shop tab and providing product galleries and your own purchasing cart within Facebook.

This functionality syncs all of your Shopify Lite items to your Facebook store so you won’t need to upload it separately. Your products are always synced with Shopify. This means that any changes you make in the Facebook store are reflected on Shopify as well. Plus, you can easily just focus on your Shopify dashboard if you want to.

The great thing about Shopify Lite is that it allows your customers to checkout products within Facebook. This means they won’t even have to leave Facebook or jump to another site which usually discourages customers from purchasing.

Customers also get to keep their contact and payment info safely within Facebook so if they want to order from you again, they won’t have to re-enter the same info.

Shopify Lite for Messenger

Most Facebook users use Facebook Messenger to communicate with friends, family, and colleagues. They can also use to connect with businesses. Today, most businesses employ the auto-response feature of messenger which allows customers to ask questions and get answers automatically. 

If a customer messages you on Messenger, you instantly get a notification. You can also utilize messenger to provide product information such as the description, videos, or photos. After the customer is satisfied, they can buy your product directly on Messenger.

Another awesome feature on Facebook Messenger is that you’ll be able to offer your customers shipment updates, tracking numbers, and a View Order button so they can see when their order will arrive. That way, your customers may purchase from the convenience of Facebook.

Why use Shopify Lite if there's a Facebook marketplace?

Because most internet consumers are already on Facebook, using it to sell your products can be very beneficial for a small business.

It reduces the number of steps necessary for a client to complete their purchase, basically simplifying the shopping experience. People usually lose interest and leave their shopping carts when they have to switch sites.

However, the fact is that Facebook does not really let you sell. Although Facebook has a Marketplace where you can "sell items," it is not a true eCommerce platform. Why?

There's no checkout button, no tax computation, no payment processors, just product listings and customer contact. Everything else is all up to you. Not only does it lengthen the shopping experience for your customers, it wastes your time because you’d have to be doing most of these things manually.

Shopify Lite for Instagram

Another popular medium for online selling is Instagram. With Shopify Lite, you should be able to add Buy Buttons onto any of your posts and stories which then allows customers to make their purchase directly on the app.

Before you start selling on Instagram, make sure you have a Facebook business page already and that your products are in your Facebook catalog.

Here’s how you can set it up:

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Facebook sales channel > Overview.
  2. Click Set up to start in the Instagram Shopping section.
  3. Connect the required Facebook accounts to the Facebook sales channel.
  4. Review and accept the terms and conditions, then click Request approval.

Selling on your own website via the Shopify Lite Buy Button

Last but not the least, if you’re planning to sell using an existing website outside of Shopify, then you’ll be using the Buy Button.

What the Shopify Buy Button does is make it convenient for customers to purchase on any site like WordPress, Tumblr, or your own blog. It's a customizable widget that fits any website and will take your potential customers straight to a secure checkout page to finalize their purchase.

So, how exactly does the Buy Button work? It basically allows you to upload your products and add Buy buttons with product details into your website. Let’s say you're a beauty blogger, and you want to sell a few items. You’d be able to sell makeup tools, cosmetics, and other merchandise directly from your blog.

The Buy Button works regardless of the sort of website you have, whether it's a WordPress blog or just any homepages and landing pages. You'll just need to create embeddable product cards and shopping cards and place them wherever you want on your website. 

The Buy Button is also compatible with social media networks such as Facebook and Instagram. These convenient buttons make it easier for you to sell while also making it very easy for your customers to purchase.

CONCLUSION

Despite its limitations, Shopify Lite has a lot to give. The best part about Shopify Lite is how simple it is to use. You can run Shopify Lite if you can run a Facebook company page. Even without Facebook, the Buy Buttons functionality lets you easily provide a purchase option to customers seamlessly.

Keep in mind that regardless of which Shopify plan you select, you will not be billed by Shopify until your trial time expires. The Shopify 14-day free trial helps you to get set up and experiment with the platform, allowing you to test both Shopify Lite and Shopify Basic. Both allow you to sell things on the Shopify platform, but if you want to grow your brand with an online store, Shopify Basic is the way to go.

Nevertheless, Shopify Lite is straightforward, simple to use, and ready to go right away.

It's ideal for business owners who don’t need a full, functional website yet but just need a way to accept payments, make invoices, and track inventory.

Although this plan is designed primarily for businesses that do not require an online store, it is adaptable enough to allow you to upgrade to other Shopify plans when you are ready.

Now, if you're considering transferring from one eCommerce system to another, you'll need a reliable method to migrate all of your product, order, and customer data to ensure seamless service delivery. Webinopoly's Shopify professionals can assist you with migrating from another platform to Shopify. We can also assist you with setting up your eCommerce store, customizing a Shopify template, or developing a Shopify app. We can assist you with any eCommerce solutions you require. Contact Webinopoly's Shopify Experts for any Shopify requirements.

Webinopoly is a multi-award-winning digital agency specializing in design, setup, development, and marketing. Our services include everything from creating your Shopify store to theme customization, website development, Shopify migration, SEO, and marketing.

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If you need a Shopify website built, a Shopify app developed, or any eCommerce solutions developed, please contact us at 713-805-5888, email us at [email protected], or leave us a message here.

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